In 1876 Dvorák received assistance from the Austrian State Stipendium
for the third time (he was similarly helped for two further years), and by then
Brahms was on the jury. It was Brahms who launched Dvorák with Simrock,
writing in December 1877: 'Dvorák has written all manner of things:
operas (Czech), symphonies, quartets, piano pieces. In any case, he is a very
talented man. Moreover, he is poor!' Brahms had seen the E major quartet, then
known as Op 27, and may well have been intrigued by the preponderance of minor
keys in so much of the work. A domestic reason was the loss in infancy of
Dvorák's first daughter. The work starts with a fresh lyricism
beautifully captured by the Kocian team [listen -- track 5,
0:00-1:10]. Much melancholy follows, and it is a while before even the finale
achieves the official key of the work. There are ravishing textures along the
way, none more bewitching than this moment in the concluding Allegro con brio
[listen -- track 8, 1:25-2:28].